Heading to Houston for 'The Big Game?'

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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2004-01-19

Heading to Houston for 'The Big Game?'
A Sports Shooters guide to covering the Super Bowl

By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Photo by Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY

The inside of Reliant Stadium in Houston.

For those of you traveling to Houston at the end of the month for Super Bowl XXXVIII you're in for a weekend of Tex-Mex food, traffic jams and a fairly photographer - friendly Reliant Stadium.

This is just the second Super Bowl hosted by the city of Houston and the home of the Houston Texans during regular season games is one of the easiest NFL stadiums I have ever worked out of. (The first Super Bowl held in the city was Super Bowl VIII held 30 years ago at Rice Stadium.)

But of course the NFL has to make significant changes to the game operations and logistics for any host venue for their "Big Game" and Reliant Stadium is no different.

Reliant Stadium has a semi- translucent retractable roof and natural turf. During regular season games, photographers are allowed to stand on the sidelines to work because the front row seating is fairly high off the stadium floor. It was unclear during the photographers' walk through whether that will be the case for the Super Bowl.

The endzones have virtually no room between the end line and the seating wall. Also the space between the benches and the seats is not especially wide (like last year's host Qualcomm Stadium). So passing from one side of the bench to the other might take some time depending on the location
of the network's boom cameras.

During the Patriots - Texans game when the sun was not out, the base exposure was around 1/640 @ f/2.8 at ASA640. However, the Super Bowl will kick off around 5:15 local time, so there will not be any daylight filtering through the dome. Expect field-level exposure to be in the 1/640 - 1/500 @ f/2.8 at ASA800.

Here are a few tidbits of information gleaned from the Super Bowl Photographers Walk Through held in November of 2003 (ironically after the New England Patriots' win over the hometown Texans):

* There will be a media compound where portable trailers will be placed for organizations covering the Super Bowl. It is located on the north end of the stadium. To reserve a place in one of the photo trailers, contact the NFL directly. (For a "floor plan" of Reliant Stadium: http://www.houston-guide.com/facilities/convention/conventionastro.html)

Photo by Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY

The outside of Reliant Stadium in Houston.

* Media credential pick up is at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. There is a separate credential from the game credential for media center and trailer compound access for the week leading up to the Super Bowl. Credential pick up will begin on Monday, Jan. 26.

* The photographers' staging area on game day will be on the Southwest side of the stadium, located in parking lot 28. Photographer check-in, radio frequency control, vest, speed-card and program distribution will be in this area. And yes, it is on the opposite side of where the photo trailers are located! (RF control is where you register and have approved any and all radio devices you will be using inside the stadium. If you are using 2-way radios, this means having the frequencies checked, logged and a sticker placed on each piece of hardware.)

* Overhead photo positions: "mid-field" is located in section 512, row 1 ... which is actually round the 10-yard line; the endzone overhead photo position is in section 520, row 1. These are very high up and will require a 600mm lens (on a digital camera) minimum for game action from these locations. (For a look at a locator map of these spots, go to the Houston Chronicle's web site on Reliant Stadium: http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/graphics.html )

* Telephone service for your work space must be obtained through NFL Telecommunications: 800 - NFL - 3333. They will also direct you to SmartCity if you want to order high-speed Internet access for transmitting your photographs. If you do order a high-speed line, be prepared to pay a premium price for it. "Standard line service" pricing from SmartCity will start around $1,500 not including running the line to the trailer, installation and any hardware you may need to rent or purchase from the company. T-1 line pricing begins at $2,250. (http://www.smartcitytelecom.com/ )

Photo by Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY

The inside of Reliant Stadium during the walk-through.

The "media hotels" are:

* Hilton Americas (the NFL's main media hotel)
* Doubletree @ Allen Center
* Four Points Sheraton Houston
* Holiday Inn Select
* Hyatt Regency Houston
* LaQuinta Inn Greenway Plaza

Most, if not all, of the hotels within Houston are booked up. The NFL's hotels require a 4 - night minimum and if you're fortunate enough to find an area hotel on your own that does have availability, room rates will be at a premium and at least a 3 - night - minimum will be required.

Houston is a very cosmopolitan city with many great restaurants and bars ... from wonderful little hole-in-the-wall drinking establishments downtown to the best 4 - star eateries imaginable. SportsShooter.com members should check out "The Guide" for several listings for Houston.

Both Canon and Nikon will have service depots set up for the Super Bowl. Canon, which is the official camera of the NFL will have a trailer in the photo trailer compound. Nikon will have their operations at the Houston Chronicle, located downtown. Both will offer clean and checks, minor repairs and equipment loans.

Also, Penn Camera will be located in the trailer compound (http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1085).

Here are some web pages to check out with information about Reliant Stadium, the Super Bowl and covering the Super Bowl:

http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1079
http://www.sportsshooter.com/news_story.html?id=861
http://www.sportsshooter.com/archive.html?start=51 (check out issue v.58)
http://www.superbowl.com/
https://www.superbowlxxxviii.org/main-b.asp
http://www.superbowl.com/playoffs/gamebygame/week4
http://www.foxsports.com/named/FS/NFL
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/specials/playoffs/2003/
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/front.htm
http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/04/superbowl/index.html